INTERPOL Arrests 25 Alleged Anonymous Members

INTERPOL announced yesterday that 25 people suspected of being members of the hacker group Anonymous has been arrested. The arrests of the 25 suspects took place in four countries, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Spain. According to INTERPOL, they are suspected of having links to the hacker group Anonymous.

The raid, codenamed “Operation Unmask”, began with an investigation in February after the cyber attacks against several government agencies in Colombia and Chile. The authorities made the raids on 40 different premises and seized 250 items, including computers and cell phones.

“This operation shows that crime in the virtual world does have real consequences for those involved, and that the Internet cannot be seen as a safe haven for criminal activity, no matter where it originates or where it is targeted,” said Bernd Rossbach, Acting INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services.

A Twitter account linked to Anonymous, AnonOps, more than hinted that the group has attacked the INTERPOL website in retaliation of the arrests, but it is not clear if they succeeded.

Yesterday’s raid on suspected members of Anonymous is the largest to date. Anonymous is described as a decentralized group, often taking credit for attacks against authorities and companies.

Earlier this month Anonymous published a sound clip on YouTube, where the hacker group took credit for recording a conference call between U.S. and British law enforcement agents investigating the group.

INTERPOL has not specified what crimes the arrested persons are being suspected for yet.